Tinder sponge

Tinder sponge
	Tinder fungus ( Fomes fomentarius )
Systematics
Class :	Agaricomycetes
Subclass :	insecure position (incertae sedis)
Order :	Stalk porlings (Polyporales)
Family :	Stalk porling relatives (Polyporaceae)
Genre :	Tinder sponges ( Fomes )
Type :	Tinder sponge
Scientific name
	Fomes fomentarius
	( L .: Fr. ) JJ Kickx

The tinder fungus ( Fomes fomentarius ) is a species of fungus from the family of the stem porlet (Polyporaceae). It attacks weakened deciduous trees, especially beech ( Fagus ) and birch ( Betula ), and forms thick, inverse console-shaped fruiting bodies on the trunks . The perennial structures can reach a diameter of up to 30 cm. The crusty top is light gray or pale brown in color and finely zoned. The tubes on the underside are brown in color and are often multilayered.

The name of the tinder sponge came from its earlier use as tinder . Tree fungi are also known as sponges due to their ability to bind water. In addition, hemostatic and disinfectant wound dressings were made from it until the 19th century. Alcoholic liquid extracts were also used for bladder problems, upset stomachs and menstrual cramps.

In Romania, the trama is still processed into a leather-like material from which artistic hats, bags and the like are made for the tourist market. Otherwise, the sponge tinder is largely of no economic importance.

features

Section through a fruiting body with the labeled components. Usually, however, the mycelial core occupies the entire upper bead.
"Young" specimens of the tinder fungus with fresher accretion edges
Fruiting bodies grown from the trunk of a birch tree for about ten years
The twisted growth of the tinder sponge results from the tree tipping over ( gravitropism or geotropism )

Macroscopic features

The tinder sponge forms perennial, console-shaped fruiting bodies that can live up to 30 years. They reach a width of 10 to 30 cm, in exceptional cases up to 60 cm in width and up to 20 cm in thickness and height. However , it is usually much smaller on birch trees . With increasing age and when the colonized substrate is used up, the annual growth decreases, so that relatively tall, hat-shaped fruiting bodies develop. A similar observation can be made with fruit bodies with increasing height on the substrate.

The fruit bodies are light to dark gray on top, older fruit bodies can become almost black. Young, not yet overwintered fruit bodies, like the growth zone of older specimens, are yellow to rust-brown in color. The surface of the fruiting body is concentrically grooved to furrowed and covered with a hard crust.

The underside of the tinder sponge, which is often slightly curved inwards, consists of a smooth, gray to ocher-brown pore layer. The pores are thick-walled and rounded; in a section of one millimeter there are two to four pores. They turn slightly brown on pressure. The tubes are arranged in layers. These zones correspond - like the growth zones on the surface - to the growth spurts of the fungus. Since several such attacks can occur per year (often two per year), the age of the fruiting body cannot be inferred from the number of layers.

Inside the mushroom is the soft fungal network of the mycelial nucleus . This is surrounded by a relatively thin layer of tramah , which also extends over the entire area under the crust. The trama turns black with potassium hydroxide. Like other tree-dwelling fungus species, the tinder sponge also shows geotropism , that is, newly growing layers of fruit are aligned with their underside towards the ground. If a fruiting body forms new fruit layers after the host tree has fallen, these are formed by about 90 ° compared to the existing ones.

Microscopic features

The tinder fungus has a hyphae system (trimitic) consisting of three forms, consisting of generative hyphae, skeletal hyphae and connective hyphae. The former are cylindrical, thin-walled, and hyaline ; the septa (partition walls of the hyphae ) have buckles . The connective and skeletal hyphae, however, are thick-walled and colored yellow to light golden brown. The connective hyphae are branched and skeletal hyphae are absent or hardly present. There are no cystids .

The basidia have a club shape and a buckle at the base. They are hyaline and have four spores. These are cylindrically shaped ellipsoid or long and 15-22 × 4.4 to 7 μ m. They are hyaline, inamyloid and have a smooth surface. The spore powder is white.

Species delimitation

If you scrape off a few small particles from the crust of the sponge tinder and add alkali, the solution turns a characteristic blood red color

The tinder sponge can be confused with species of the genus Lackporlinge . However, these often have a strong brown colored top of the hat; the pores turn dark brown on pressure. A definite distinguishing feature are the warty spores compared to the smooth ones in the tinder sponge. The fire sponges can also look like him. They differ in their firm, wood-like consistency with a hat crust that cannot be dented. In addition, there is a similarity to the red-rimmed tree sponge , which is mostly found on coniferous wood and has a lighter trama and non-discoloring pores.

Another distinguishing feature is the blood-red coloring of the crust with alkali , which is characteristic of the tinder fungus , triggered by the deprotonation of the main pigment fomentariol . This color reaction can be used to distinguish the tinder sponge from other, outwardly similar porlingen, for example the common fire sponge .

ecology

Numerous fruiting bodies of the tinder fungus colonize a dead, partly still standing beech trunk.

The tinder sponge is a weak parasite and saprobiont on hardwoods, very rarely also on conifers. The main substrate of the tinder sponge in Central Europe is the red beech , birch and poplar are also colonized, but it can also occur on other deciduous trees. In Europe there is a south-north distribution of the main substrate, in the south of the continent Fagus is found as the main host, in the north birch species, this substrate boundary in Germany roughly coincides with the northern edge of the low mountain range. Fruit bodies are formed in all phases of wood decomposition by the fungus.

The tinder sponge is a typical inhabitant of older populations. Preferred forest types are beech, fir- beech and beech-rich hornbeam - oak forests. It can also be found in moors , heaths and old birch stands. On the other hand, the fungus is less common on shaded slopes and alder - alluvial forests .

The tinder fungus penetrates its host trees through knots and trunk wounds and causes intense white rot in the heartwood , which often causes the infected tree to break off at a height of several meters. The tinder fungus can live on as a saprobiont for a long time on the dead substrate .

distribution

In addition to India and Pakistan, the tinder sponge is mainly distributed in the Holarctic , where it occurs meridional to boreal . The fungus is widespread in Asia , North America and Europe . It can also be found in North Africa and the Canary Islands. The tinder fungus can be found everywhere in Europe.

There are divergent views in the literature on the frequency and danger of the tinder fungus, while Krieglsteiner classifies it in risk group G 3 (still common, but with a strong tendency to decline), while other publications describe it as common. Krieglsteiner sees the strong forest regeneration as the main reason for the decline. In addition, there is the decline of old and diseased deciduous trees, which are removed due to their weak condition, as well as the reforestation in coniferous stands, the lowering of the groundwater, an intensification of agriculture and urbanization . In southern Germany it is the most common fungus in uncultivated forests, but it is completely absent in intensively managed forest areas.

meaning

General

The tinder fungus as one of the most important and most common white rot pathogens on beech is of forestry importance. The wood decomposition process initiated by the fungus makes the nutrients contained in the wood accessible again to the natural cycle and new topsoil is created.

The use of the tinder sponge goes back around 10,000 years. This is proven by a number of finds from Stone Age settlements. Already Ötzi , the glacier man who was found in the Oetztal Alps in 1991 and is dated the age of more than 5000 years, already tinder fungus carried on his travels with him.

In the 19th century, the demand for tinder sponges increased to such an extent that the fungus had to be imported from Eastern Europe and became rare in some areas of Germany. In 1842, for example, 21.5 tons of sponge tinder were processed in Neustadt am Rennsteig

The tinder fungus was Mushroom of the Year 1995.

Use as a food

The tinder sponge is classified as non-poisonous, but as inedible, mainly due to its hard and woody consistency and the bitter substances it contains. However, the mushroom has been consumed since ancient times. For this purpose, the mushroom was ground or processed into an aqueous extract. Both forms of processing are quite edible or even tasty. In particular, the consumption of tinder sponge powder as a tea infusion and the enjoyment of herbal schnapps with tinder sponge remained up into the 20th century. In areas where tinder sponge was used intensively, home recipes for "tinder schnapps" and tinder sponge tinctures were developed.

Use as tinder

As early as the Neolithic , the loose, felted middle layer of the fungus, the so-called trama, was processed into tinder , a material that nourishes the fire and thus helps to ignite the fire. This is how the mushroom got its name.

Cap made from the trama of Fomes fomentarius in Romania

In modern times, this hyphae layer was soaked, boiled, pounded, soaked in saltpeter solution or urine and dried in an elaborate process . This resulted in a fawn-brown, felt-like mass that immediately began to glow when sparks hit it and kept this glow for a long time.

Use as a textile

In the Middle Ages and modern times, untreated tinder was also processed into mushroom leather textiles such as vests and caps. The textile is reminiscent of a mixture of fine, soft suede and felt and has a very soft feel. This handicraft art is now considered to be almost extinct and is only practiced by a few families in Romania. In Romania, caps, hats, bags, saucer doilies and other objects are made for tourist markets.

Medical uses and effects

The medicinal use of the mushroom is probably very old. Already Hippocrates (ca. 370 v. Chr.), Considered the father of medicine, described the fungus as Mykes and documented its use for wound care and its hemostatic and antiseptic properties.

It was also sold in pharmacies as a hemostatic wound pad under the name Fungus chirurgorum (wound sponge) until the 19th century . In the same preparation of the fungus, the pads were used as tamponades in dentistry, in gynecology and for the treatment of external inflammation and hemorrhoids.

The tinder fungus was not least in the traditional pharmacopoeia (so-called. Pharmacopoeia) of many countries, such. B. Germany, Hungary, China or India, documented. In folk medicine, the fungus was also used internally for bladder problems, painful menstrual bleeding and for the treatment of various cancers. Chinese folk medicine uses the tinder fungus for lung diseases, asthma and upset stomach, including esophageal, stomach and uterine cancer. In Japan the tinder sponge was used internally as a tea preparation (hot water extraction) for the treatment of colds, flu, bronchitis and weaknesses.

Guthmann (2016) summarizes the medical effects as follows: wound healing, hemostatic, anti-inflammatory , antibacterial , antiviral , immunomodulating .

science

Recently, research institutions in Germany have been increasingly dealing with the tinder fungus. With the publication of the analytical composition in 2006/2007 by the research institute Biopol e. V. the beta1,3 / 1,6 D-glucan-melanin-chitin complex was identified and was the subject of product developments for various branches of industry. Most of the research on the mushroom comes primarily from Japan and Eastern Europe.

Tinder sponge as host

The fruiting body of the tinder sponge serves as a food source for numerous insect species. In a study in Norway, which was limited to beetles, 35 species of beetles were collected on the fruiting bodies. Of the beetle species that develop in the fruiting body of the fungus, the most common were Cis jacquemarti or Cis alter , Bolitophagus reticulatus , Ennearthron cornutum , Dorcatoma dresdensis, and Cis bidentatus .

Ingredients and analytical composition

The energy content of 100 g of the dried mushroom is estimated by Stamets (2005) as 376 kcal. described. The nutrient contents are: protein 15 g, fat 3.5 g, 71 g carbohydrates (especially complex polysaccharides such as beta-glucans) and 2.1 g minerals. Furthermore, it contains vitamin B5 at 2.7 mg, vitamin D at 1.17 mg, vitamin B3 (niacin) at 12.4 mg and vitamin B2. The mushroom also contains 1.3 mg copper, 13 mg iron, as well as 760 mg potassium and 14 µ g selenium. In addition to the beta-glucans, the sterols (ergosterol, fungisterol, fungisterone, etc.) and terpenes are also of medical interest.

Structural formula of fomentariol, the main pigment of the crust of the tinder fungus

The tinder sponge consists of up to approx. 87% of the beta 1.3 / 1.6 D-glucan-melanin-chitin complex. The individual components of the complex are interwoven in such a way that they form a hollow fiber. As a hollow fiber, this complex is a unique natural building block. The following is the determination of the polysaccharide composition of the beta 1.3 / 1.6 D-glucan-melanin-chitin complex with the components:

Glucan: approx. 40%
Chitin, Chitosan: 5.0 / 3.9%
Glucuronic acid: 1%
Hydrolysis residue: 21%
Ash: 1.8%
Extractables: 9.5%
Nitrogen: 1.1%
Nitrogen in the hydrolysis residue: 1.7%
The melanin content is determined in the complex with approx. 19–23%.

Through various technologies of the purification of the beta 1,3 / 1,6 D-glucan-melanin-chitin complex as hollow fiber, it can be modified for different purposes in the areas of environmental protection (decontamination), food supplements , cosmetics and medicine .

The brown-red color of the crust of the tinder sponge is essentially caused by three colorants. The main compound is the purpurogallin derivative fomentariol.

literature

Heinz Butin : Diseases of the forest and park trees. Diagnosis, biology, control. 2 spore boards. 3rd, revised and expanded edition. Thieme, Stuttgart and New York 1996, ISBN 3-13-639003-2 .
Schwarze, Engels, Matteck: Wood-decomposing fungi in trees. Rombach Verlag, 1999, ISBN 3-7930-9194-5 , pp. 88-95.
P. Schütt, HJ Schuck, B. Stimm: Lexicon of tree and shrub species. Nikol-Verlagsgesellschaft, Hamburg 2002, ISBN 3-933203-53-8 .
German Josef Krieglsteiner (Ed.): The large mushrooms of Baden-Württemberg . Volume 1: General Part. Stand mushrooms: jelly, bark, prick and pore mushrooms. Ulmer, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-8001-3528-0 .
Heinrich Dörfelt , Gottfried Jetschke (Ed.): Dictionary of mycology. 2nd Edition. Spectrum Academic Publishing House, Heidelberg / Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-8274-0920-9 .

Web links

Commons : Tinder fungus ( Fomes fomentarius ) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Wiktionary: Tinder sponge - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Mushroom of the year 1995: Tinder sponge at the German Society for Mycology

Tinder sponge in the ARBOFUX diagnostic database for trees

“… Burns like tinder!” Experimental archeology in the Landscape Museum Obermain Kulmbach

Tinder sponge at Tom Volks's Fungus of the month, 2001

Individual evidence

↑ G. Frerichs, G. Ahrend, H. Zurnig (ed.): Hager's handbook of pharmaceutical practice . Springer Verlag, Berlin / Göttingen / Heidelberg 1949, p. 1324 .
↑ Ewald Gerhardt: FSVO manual mushrooms. BLV, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-8354-0053-3 , p. 462. (for the entire paragraph)
↑ Jan-Markus Teuscher, New experimental designs on the subject of natural substances in chemistry lessons: Chemistry with mushrooms , dissertation, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 2011 (online) .
↑ Jörg Müller, Heinz Engel, Markus Blaschke: Assemblages of wood-inhabiting fungi related to silvicultural management intensity in beech forests in southern Germany . In: European Journal of Forest Research . tape 126 , no. 4 , October 2007, p. 513-527 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c Jürgen Guthmann: Healing mushrooms - The most important species in the world in portrait . Quelle & Meyer Verlag, Wiebelsheim 2016, ISBN 978-3-494-01669-6 .
↑ ^a ^b Wilfried Rühle: Questions about the beta 1.3 / 1.6D-glucan natural complex. In: Tinder Sponge The truffle among the medicinal mushrooms. Research Institute Biopol e. V., December 2014, accessed on December 1, 2014 .
^ Wilfried Rühle: Product developments. Research Institute Biopol e. V., 2005, accessed October 9, 2006 .
↑ Bjørn Arne Rukke: Fungivorous beetles in basidiocarps of Fomes fomentarius respond differently to microhabitat variables in Eur. J. Entomol. 99: 43 - 52, 2002 ISSN 1210-5759 Table 1 p. 44
↑ Paul Stamets: Mycellium Running: How Mushrooms can help save the world . Ten Speed Press, 2005, ISBN 1-58008-579-2 .
↑ Hendrik Wetzel: 8th Berlin-Brandenburg Research Symposium, Polysaccharide - Composition of the beta-glucan natural complex from the tinder fungus (Fomes fomentarius). Retrieved October 30, 2014 .
↑ Nöel Arpin, Jean Favre-Bonvin, Wolfgang Steglich, Le fomentariol: Nouvelle benzotropolone isolée de Fomes fomentarius, Phytochemistry 1974 , 13 , 1949-1952, doi: 10.1016 / 0031-9422 (74) 85123-X .

[1] G. Frerichs, G. Ahrend, H. Zurnig (ed.): Hager's handbook of pharmaceutical practice . Springer Verlag, Berlin / Göttingen / Heidelberg 1949, p. 1324 .

[2] Ewald Gerhardt: FSVO manual mushrooms. BLV, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-8354-0053-3 , p. 462. (for the entire paragraph)

[3] Jan-Markus Teuscher, New experimental designs on the subject of natural substances in chemistry lessons: Chemistry with mushrooms , dissertation, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 2011 (online) .

[4] Jörg Müller, Heinz Engel, Markus Blaschke: Assemblages of wood-inhabiting fungi related to silvicultural management intensity in beech forests in southern Germany . In: European Journal of Forest Research . tape 126 , no. 4 , October 2007, p. 513-527 .

[:0-5] Jürgen Guthmann: Healing mushrooms - The most important species in the world in portrait . Quelle & Meyer Verlag, Wiebelsheim 2016, ISBN 978-3-494-01669-6 .

[biopol-6] Wilfried Rühle: Questions about the beta 1.3 / 1.6D-glucan natural complex. In: Tinder Sponge The truffle among the medicinal mushrooms. Research Institute Biopol e. V., December 2014, accessed on December 1, 2014 .

[7] Wilfried Rühle: Product developments. Research Institute Biopol e. V., 2005, accessed October 9, 2006 .

[Rukke-8] Bjørn Arne Rukke: Fungivorous beetles in basidiocarps of Fomes fomentarius respond differently to microhabitat variables in Eur. J. Entomol. 99: 43 - 52, 2002 ISSN 1210-5759 Table 1 p. 44

[9] Paul Stamets: Mycellium Running: How Mushrooms can help save the world . Ten Speed Press, 2005, ISBN 1-58008-579-2 .

[10] Hendrik Wetzel: 8th Berlin-Brandenburg Research Symposium, Polysaccharide - Composition of the beta-glucan natural complex from the tinder fungus (Fomes fomentarius). Retrieved October 30, 2014 .

[11] Nöel Arpin, Jean Favre-Bonvin, Wolfgang Steglich, Le fomentariol: Nouvelle benzotropolone isolée de Fomes fomentarius, Phytochemistry 1974 , 13 , 1949-1952, doi: 10.1016 / 0031-9422 (74) 85123-X .